Interview with Jennifer Lee – Unfolding Your Life Vision.

Jennifer is the founder of Artizen Coaching, and a certified coach, author, artist, and yogini who believes in living life in full color. It was such a delight to meet Jennifer at Squam this past September, where we chatted about visionboards and her fabulous products to help unfold your life’s vision. (This is where I also picked up a copy of her “Unfold Your Life Vision Kit” fabulous!)

Please grab a cup of tea or refreshment and spend a few minutes reading about Jennifer below and checking out her fab website.

1) Jennifer, I love the the name Artizen coaching. Where did the name come from and what does it represent?

When I was re-branding my coaching practice back in 2007, I wanted to find a name that captured both my creative, playful side and my grounded, peaceful side. With the help of a branding consultant we landed on Artizen Coaching. I love how it combines both art and Zen and is a play on artisan.

2) I read your great story about your leap from the corporate world to running your coaching business fulltime. What are some of the lessons you learned, that you would want other women entrepreneurs to know about if they are thinking of taking the leap?

Gosh there are so many lessons to share, but I’ll try to highlight a few here. Ask yourself what are you passionate about? What brings you alive? It became very clear to me after co-leading a leadership retreat that, when I was guiding personal growth work rather than being stuck in my corporate job, I was having a much more powerful, positive impact on people and I was feeding my soul. The other key thing is to connect with like-minded people. When I was in my corporate role I networked with other people in my field of organizational and executive development. But I had really no idea that a whole world of entrepreneurs existed outside of the cubicle walls. Once I started to tap into various entrepreneurial networking groups, I learned more about business, got support, and made some great new friends who share a passion for going after their big dreams. They understand what it is like to put yourself out there and take risks.

3) What do you think is one of the major challenges for creative women today in terms of making ideas and dreams happen?

I’d say a major challenge is self-doubt. That can come in many forms. Thinking that they don’t have enough experience and that they must figure everything out before taking that first step. Not trusting their intuition. Comparing themselves to others and not feeling good enough. What I’d encourage instead is to give space for your ideas and dreams to take shape. Nurture them, take small steps to put them out in the world. You’ll make your dreams real and you’ll gather evidence of your creative brilliance.

4) I’m a huge fan of visionboards, and I love your “Unfolding Your Life Vision Kit”. How do you think visionboards and using pictures helps us plan and stay focused?

Aww, glad you love the Unfolding Your Life Vision Kit! The great thing about visionboards is they help you intuitively access feelings and thoughts beyond words and help you quickly connect with the essence of your goals. Visionboards can also make your dreams seem more real. For example, several years ago when I got really clear about wanting to right a book, I prototyped the back of a future book cover and pasted it to my journal. It was cool to have something physical that I could hold in my hands to inspire me on my journey. I like to do the visionboarding first to get a sense of the overall big picture and then detail out the action steps and resources needed to make it all happen. I also like that art is a tangible representation of your vision so your big dreams can easily stay top of mind.

5) Congratulations on the upcoming launch of your new book The “Right-Brain Business Plan: A Creative, Visual Map for Success” . How have some of your clients used these techniques and what kind of results have they discovered?

Thanks! The Right-Brain Business Planhelps people get past the fear factor in business and encourages them to leverage their natural creative genius. Clients have used these playful techniques to create all different types of visual business plans including a leather cuff bracelet, a paper-plate mobile, and an altered children’s book. Recently a past e-Course participant named her Right-Brain Business Plan “Emmit” and gave him a hilarious personality and a clown nose! Some examples of results achieved include launching websites, getting clear on their perfect customers and landing new clients, hiring help for their business, offering new products and services, and more. You can visit the Right-Brain Business Plan spotlights section to see more creative examples and to read about what people have accomplished after doing their Right-Brain Business Plan.

6) I’m also a fan of rituals and celebrating milestones in our lives. What are some of your daily rituals you swear by to keep you focused, creative and present? And do you have any favorites you like to share with friends?

I like to journal in the morning before I get out of bed. It helps to clear my mind. Practicing yoga helps me stay grounded and present. I also keep my Right-Brain Business Plan and collaged values cards in my office where I can easily see them.

One of my other rituals is every other week, for the past two years, I participate in a 90-minute call with my Nurture Huddle. We’re a small group of creative bloggers who get together to help support each other in our creative process and in going after our big dreams. Their support and encouragement have been invaluable.

7) What are some of the exciting goals and milestones you have already visioned for 2011?

2011 is going to be a big year with lots of exciting new adventures! I envision putting myself out there in a much more expansive way so I can reach more creative entrepreneurs who want to make their dreams come true. I see a fun, joyous, and successful book launch in February that will include a cool and informative virtual event for right-brainers in business. I’ll also start an intensive coaching/mentoring program for creative entrepreneurs later on in the year. E-Courses and fun new products are also in the works. I would also love to attend a writer’s retreat and to go on a vacation to Hawaii with my hubby.

Thanks, Louise for these fabulous questions and for being the creative inspiration you are!

Thanks to Jennifer for spending the time to answer these questions to share with us.

I have purchased and use Jennifer’s products myself and some of the concepts Jennifer discusses above such as visionboarding and exercises for our right brain are covered in my ecourse “Big Dreams. Small Wonders”. Visioning our future life and stretching our right brain is so important and I hope you will check out all of these great resources.

Registration for “Big Dreams.Small Wonders” is OPEN and we already have a great group of creative souls ready to make 2011 their year. So excited. 🙂

Dearest sweet Louise, this is a wonderful interview and i adore jennifer's work lots! So inspiring! Thanks so much for sharing! It's wonderful to get to know the artist i adore a little more! Have a lovely merry happy day and love to you!

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Hi, I'm Louise and thank you so much for visiting me here. I am a mixed media artist, who is passionate about combining the healing energy of nature and color with the meditative process of mandala making

Here, you will find blog posts about my own creative journey, resources & tools to help you dream, be inspired and create!